Herbal Products and Dietary Supplements: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Use, Attitudes, and Knowledge Among the Lebanese Population

Abstract

There has been a marked increase in use of herbal products and dietary supplements (HP/DS) in many developed and developing countries. However, data about consumption patterns and awareness about these products in the Lebanese population is scarce. The present study aimed to examine the determinants of HP/DS use in Lebanese adults, identify potential interactions and safety concerns and assess the knowledge and attitudes of consumers towards the efficacy and safety of these products. A face-to-face, 28-item survey was administered to Lebanese adults (n = 726) in community pharmacies across the country. Thirty-five percent of participants reported to be currently consuming at least one HP/DS including 23 % who were consuming vitamins and/or mineral supplements and 18 % consuming herbal products. Significant safety concerns were identified among consumers in the form of disease-supplement, drug-supplement as well as supplement-supplement interactions. Logistic multivariate regression analysis indicated that use of supplements was positively associated with the female gender and increasing age. The majority of respondents falsely believed that HP/DS pose no risk to the general population and that they must be safe to be sold in Lebanon. Moreover, most participants were consuming these products based on recommendations from friends or relatives rather than from healthcare professionals. Substantial misconceptions about HP/DS exist among Lebanese adults, indicating a need for consumers' education from professional and reliable sources on the efficacy and safety of such products.

The attitudes and habits of patients toward use of herbal drugs

“…Female gender, higher level of education and preferring herbal drugs compared to the other medicines were shown as factors determining the use of herbal drugs. Our results are partially compatible with the results of other authors (13)(14). In the study conducted in Lebanon (13) it was shown that the use of herbal drugs and dietary supplements was associated with female gender, but also with increasing age.…”

“…Despite all this, the vast majority of our patients who use herbal preparations did not experience any inconvenience during the use of herbal remedies A great problem in self-medication with herbal drugs is the fact that the patients consider that the herbal preparations are completely safe and therefore they prefer to use them at the expense of conventional drugs (9). Approximately 70% of our patients showed such attitude towards use of herbal drugs, which is in accordance with the results of authors in Malaysia (12) and Lebanon (13). It is particularly interesting that, despite the significant sociological and cultural differences between patients who participated in our study and patients in Malaysia and Lebanon, the attitude towards herbal medicines is similar.…”

Characteristics of Herbal Medicine Users and Adverse Events Experienced in South Korea: A Survey Study

“…There have been several surveys in the past demonstrating consumers' opinions about the safety of herbal medicines [9–11]. According to surveys of Serbia [9] and Saudi Arabia [10], 73.3% (211) of Serbian respondents and 81.2% (239) of Saudi Arabian respondents considered that the use of herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements is harmless, respectively.…”

“…According to surveys of Serbia [9] and Saudi Arabia [10], 73.3% (211) of Serbian respondents and 81.2% (239) of Saudi Arabian respondents considered that the use of herbal medicines and herbal dietary supplements is harmless, respectively. Meanwhile, only 12.1% (88) of Lebanese respondents perceived that herbal products sold in Lebanon are pure [11]. …”

Conocimiento, aceptación y uso de medicina tradicional peruana y de medicina alternativa/complementaria en usuarios de consulta externa en Lima Metropolitana

“…El porcentaje de uso (59,5%) está por encima de lo reportado por encuestas nacionales en USA (17,7%) (33) , e Irán (38,6%) (34) , y por debajo de un estudio previo en Panamá (73,7%) (35) . Cabe destacar que el 27,9% de los pacientes en consulta externa habían usado plantas medicinales como tratamiento previo al uso de medicina convencional; sin embargo, este dato no suele ser indagado en la práctica diaria, a pesar que estudios anteriores (36,37) ya recomiendan la importancia de integrar el tratamiento convencional con el objetivo de mejorar la adherencia y evitar posibles efectos adversos e interacciones medicamentosas.…”